AlterPieces: MFA Thesis - Metal

Abstract

Focusing on the intertwining themes of fantasy, identity, and value, this thesis uses jewelry to explore the role of the alter ego. Participants were invited to share stories and descriptions of alternate identities arising from sources such as role-playing games, online forums, and historical reenactments; these narratives were used to make a series of thirteen portrait miniatures in the medium of painted vitreous enamel. The work was created as experimental pseudo-anthropology—artifacts for both person and persona—with the ultimate questions of validity and reality left to the viewer.